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10:53 pm
VIP Coaching Program Members
August 12, 2010
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marc, I am glad I was able to introduce you to few new ideas! Pullela Gopichand is my favourite player ever 🙂
If you can find some videos of Zhao Junhua, I am sure they will be entertaining for you 🙂
Matt
8:14 pm
February 15, 2011
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Zhao had it all. In my view on his day he was unstoppable. However, his mind wasn’t always on the game and he could lose to a half-decent player. He was fast, deceptive (just watch his final against Suprianto to see the good and bad in Zhao’s game).
It’s also important to remember that different eras have produced outstanding players e.g. the great Rudy Hartono won so many All England finals, Liem Swie King, Morten Frost, Susi Susanti to name a few. They may not have made it in this era, although who knows, they may have given the likes of Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei a run for their money.
Paul
2:42 am
April 14, 2011
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Paul said:
Bearing in mind I don't play and only coach, anyone younger and fitter than me (not much difficult to be fitter) gets me worried..
…
I can certainly relate to this! 🙂
Re: deceptive play there were some excellent names mentioned. I would also like to add one particular All England Final (2003) where Hafiz Hashim beat Chen Hong in a great upset. Two contrasting styles, and a cat and mouse game which ended in Hashim's favour. This was Hashim at his peak (unfortunately very short lived) but it's one of the most enjoyable games I've watched in an All England. Hashim lacked power and pace, buit it was his deception and pinpoint accuracy that frustrated Chen Hong immensely.
Here's a question for Paul: do you feel that different countries have greatly different philosophies in their coaching style and approach? China, for instance, places a greater emphasis on the attacking game, compared to say, Malaysia. Looking at the Malaysian men's singles in the past (Misbun/Rashid Sidek, Hashim, etc) the style is decidedly more “defensive” with a greater emphasis on shot placement and tactics. I am, of course, refering primarily to the singles game. I am also over-generalizing, and there are many exceptions, of course, but I can't help feeling that these two different philosophies shaped the game in the last couple of decades.
With recent changes in ruling and technologies, the current game is — for lack of a better word — more “complete”, with equal emphasis on technique/fitness and attack/defense. At their peak, the contemporary big “four” of Gade, Hidayat, Lin Dan, and Chong Wei are pretty much all rounders and equally comfortable attacking and defending. To survive in the current pro circuit, it is not “enough” to be primarily a “defensive” player or an “attacking” player.
5:06 pm
January 24, 2011
Offline To me, the “different country, different playing style” thing is probably because the players tried to imitate their predecessors when they were learning the game, therefore a certain style of play is passed on to the newer generation and kind of “stays” in the country.
Todays players are certainly more “complete” because now every point counts and you have to cover every aspect of the game as good as possible, the old scoring system probably allowed more specialisation because there were phases in the game where you could relax a bit more.
<3 Badminton!
5:29 pm
February 15, 2011
Offline Hi Ray
It's a good question. Comparing eras or techniques in countries is hard.
Certainly China have a conveyor belt in terms of producing world class players and it's amazing how fast the players mature and quickly fit into the international scene. I don't beleive any other country can match this.
When you look around, after Olympics in 2012, who are the top players in the world at singles. Bear in mind LCW, LD, TH and PG are all likely to retire. Boy the game is going to miss those players.
Yves mentioned an interesting point about current players copying their heros. It's possible, however the game has changed and I think coaches have had to adapt and re-think in order to prepare players for todays game and standard.
There can be slight differences in hitting style from country to country. I do believe there is a lot of pressure on players performing in China and being at the top of their game. I don't see another Head coach as ruthless and demanding as Li Yongbo. Certainly in UK, our players could not stand such a character, which is why we won't ever reach previous heights in the game. Our current crop of players do not have what it takes in general to be as dominant as chinese.
If you look at all the other badminton lpaying nations such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea and Denmark, they are all struggling bringing along their next superb mens singles player. I can't explain why, but UK is not the only country suffering. China dominance is set to continue and there's nothing we can do to stop it.
Personally, I'd question the fitness of our players compared with chinese. We don't have the speed, endurance and general power and racquet control to compete. Again, i don't know why although i suspect there is a small element in genetics to play here. But, overall, I really don't consider our players will train to the same level as chinese. I also think there's an element of truth in that statement for the other countries too.
It's true that singles has changed since the scoring system was introduced. I don't believe Morten Frost could have played his game the same with the new scoring system, although I'm sure he would have adapted and found a way to be a winner because that was the makeup of the guy.
Most players these days have to be super-fit, pin point accurate and have more than one style of play to adapt and change in singles. But, a player that cannot turn on the power and provide a good attack is not going to dominate in the game today like Lin Dan or LCW.
Paul
7:33 pm
VIP Coaching Program Members
December 4, 2010
Offline 6:51 pm
VIP Coaching Program Members
August 12, 2010
Offline An interesting example of countries copying the style of previous champions is in India. One of the main coaching establishments is the Pullela Gopichand Coaching Academny, which, under the guidance of the coach Pullela Gopichand, is responsible for producing current world number 3 Saina Newhal in the womens singles. It seems to me that in many ways she is doing exactly what we dsecribed: learning the style of her coach (which was extremely effective) but that is so very different from everywhere else. However, India is not up there with the Chinese, Malaysians etc in terms of standard in general.
Interesting that the scoring system has also affected the doubles. I remember the great Indonesian Mens Doubles pairs, who would sit back and defend for a set and half, and then dominate their exhausted opponents with their own sublime attacking style. However, nowadays, there is nowhere to hide – its not possible to simply sit back and go passive – the attacking players will almost always win.
Paul: I don't know what I will do when those top players stop playing mens singles. Lee chong wei's movement, taufiks shot production, lin dans tactical dominance, peter gades tactical genius. Each of those players all revolutionised the way the game was played. In my view: Gade made the game faster and flatter, Lee Chong Wei showed everyone he was in a different class in terms of court coverage, Taufik used to make opponents feel inadequate with his control around the net thus forcing them to increase their skills, and Lin Dan brought about an aggressive brand of singles with incredible changes of pace in play that everyone has tried to adopt. Four completely different players technically and tactically, but all at the top of the game for a very long time.
For the record: i would consider any one of those four a fairly intimidating opponent… How they cope against each other I don't know.
10:51 pm
February 15, 2011
Offline Matthew
There’s always another bunch of players ready to emerge, although at the moment I’m not certain who the forerunners are.
History is full of badminton greats so there’s no need to worry. In the 1970’s there was the great Rudy Hartono, followed by Liem Swie King, Morten Frost, Han Jan, Yang Yang, Zhao Jianhua etc and the list goes on. We could spend all day creating lists for each event – there really have been a lot of “greats” in the last 30-40 years and that’s not being disrespectful to those players dating further back.
Remember the same thing happens in many other sports from football to motor racing.
So, we’ve been fortunate to live in an age where video is increasing and therefore we get to see our favourite players more than ever. This gives us a unique opportunity to study from the greats.
Let’s also remember that this sport will continue to advance. I am very keen to find ways of doing things better and that’s why I test so much. Even last night we did some really amazing things in defence that I’ve never done before building on other technqiues I’ve developed for service return. Matthew, you’ve love what we did last night!
Paul
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